I have a 2004 Lancer ES, when I am driving if I step on the gas pedal the car feels like something is holding it back and drives really slow. I have to step on the gas little by little to pick up speed. Also when the car idles it vibrates.
I bought this car a few months ago, the previous owner removed all the lightbulbs in the dash so when I brought the car to a mechanic to put it on the computer he said I have to get the lightbulbs in order for the computer to diagnose the problem correctly.
Can anyone help me? I need to know what lightbulbs this cars dash uses and if anyone knows why the car has the acceleration problem.
Thank you.

 

clogged cat converter is my initial guess.

 

I'll check that, what about the lightbulbs?

 

I could be wrong but, missing light bulbs don't keep an obd2 reader from doing its job.

 

What about the check engine light?

 

It would keep the CEL from coming on for sure if the light was pulled lol. But no it does not matter if the bulbs are pulled for the computer to still diagnose any issues. Keep in mind it might not show any codes with the problem your experiencing. You could run open down pipe just for a couple minutes to see if your cat is clogged. The problem will dissappear if you do until you reinstall the rest of the exhaust. I would pull your plugs and check them as well as get some maf cleaner and throttle body cleaner

 

as 03lances said, the check engine light will not come ON because the bulb isn't there, but if there is a problem that would have triggered it, it will be in the ECU and it will be readable when the ODB2 reader gets connected.

Also as 03lances said, to rule out or pinpoint the cat converter, run open header for a short while(or as long as your ears can stand it). If the problem goes away, then something is blocking airflow in your exhaust system(likely to be the cat converter located under the car).